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Gulf Knights
The Gulf Knights are a small Semi-Codex Compliant Space Marine Chapter located in the Kattarn System, in the Ultima Segmentum, on the outer edges of the Imperium of Man. They are an old Chapter, though one wouldn't know it by looking at them, and have undergone significant changes since their inception many centuries ago. Even in the face of all their tragedies and trials, they maintain a bright and assured manner that some take as naive optimism, and are renowned for their matchless cunning and emphasis on the arts of strategy and tactics. By all appearances, they are a young Chapter, despite having operated successfully for many millennia. They possess some of the youngest officers and Space Marines amongst all of the Astartes, and one of the youngest Chapter Masters in their history. From their Fortress-Monastery on their new homeworld of Kattarn, they are best placed to strike out at the enemies of the Imperium with deadly precision. Chapter History Early History The early centuries of the Gulf Knights were tragic ones, full of woe and strife although little of it was of their own doing. Upon its inception many centuries ago, the Gulf Knights were as ordinary a Astartes Chapter as could be imagined. They followed Roboute Guilliman's Codex Astartes to the letter, counting their full strength at one thousand Battle Brothers with a full complement of vehicles, heavy weapons and a full fleet of starships. Following several early victories, the Gulf Knights seemed to be on the road to greatness, until the Chapter's first homeworld of Metrus was subject to a great calamity that wracked the Gulf Knights to their very core. Although now known to have been one of the earliest appearances of the Tyranid menace, and a vastly inferior force to what the Imperium currently faces, the infant Gulf Knights did not understand the new foe they were fighting. Like their current homeworld of Kattarn, Metrus was on the very fringes of the Imperium and its isolation was its doom. The Chapter suffered greatly in the fighting that followed, losing over 80% of its personnel, equipment and vehicles, as well as the entirety of its Spaceborne assets. Reinforcements responded to their distress beacon too late to render any real assistance, but saved the Knights of Metrus from total destruction. Recovery and Reformation Relocated to the fringe system of Kattarn, the Gulf Knights were relegated to a support role while the Chapter rebuilt its strength in the wake of what had happened. They deployed only very rarely, often in support of larger Chapters such as the Green Barons, a frequent partner and enduring ally even now. During this period, the Gulf Knights developed their reputation for precision infantry assaults, succeeding where larger and better equipped forces had failed through sheer cunning alone. However, they also developed an infamy amongst fellow Astartes in their unwillingness to commit large-scale forces to any given engagement, their hard-learned caution taken as selfishness by other Chapters, perhaps unfairly so. Events across the Imperium, however, prevented the Gulf Knights from being restored to their full strength, leaving them with only half their due number of Space Marines and few armoured vehicles and starships. The Gulf Knights refused to let this new shortcoming hold them back, and put their notorious cunning to work reforming the Chapter around what they had learned since the Tragedy of Metrus. The importance of the ten companies was diminished and individual squads became more significant. The result was a more flexible Chapter designed around precision infantry deployments of single squads of Tactical Marines rather than whole companies. The Chapter would never regain its former numbers, but they have never let it hold them back. Recovered and reformed, the Gulf Knights embarked on many campaigns in the wake of their reformation, winning many victories for the Emperor and emulating the successes of their infancy. Recent History Recent events have only found the Gulf Knights more resolute than ever in their quest to prove their worth. Fighting in the Ultima Segmentum, their most frequent foes have been Orks, Tau and Eldar. They have distinguished themselves most recently in campaigns against the Waaagh! of Ork Warboss Deffgutz Squigrencha in the Babat System and against major Tau incursions in the Adrakand, Lexillus and Cadricon systems. As of 965.M41, they have been a constant and vital part of the ongoing Rygerian Crusade, the fight to retake the home sector of their enduring allies, the Green Barons, from the Tau Empire. Chapter Organisation & Combat Doctrine Organisation The organisation of the Gulf Knights differs in no great fashion to that laid down by Guilliman in his Codex Astartes, although it diverges in several major ways. With only five hundred Battle-Brothers fighting in their name, and a fraction of their due number of vehicles, starships and heavy ordnance, the Gulf Knights have been forced by circumstance to innovate and adapt to maintain fighting fitness in the face of adversity. The chapter is made up of ten companies comprised of fifty Battle-Brothers each, although the times when Gulf Knights deploy in company-strength are rare. Instead, Gulf Knights usually deploy in single squads of Tactical Marines, occasionally augmented by extra squads of Assault or Devastator Marines as the engagement dictates. Such deployments of more specialised Battle-Brothers are rare occasions, however, not least because the chapter emphasises adaptability and flexibility over all else, but also because the Gulf Knights possess few heavy weapons and jump packs. Due to these facts, the vast majority of the Gulf Knights are Tactical Marines, with dedicated Assault, Devastator and Scout Marines numbering less than one hundred brothers total. Fewest of all are the Terminators, who number only twenty Battle-Brothers amongst five hundred, although only because the Gulf Knights only possess twenty suits of Terminator armour to begin with. Due to their low numbers, the Gulf Knights maintain only two Reserve Companies and eight Battle Companies. The two Reserve Companies are entirely comprised of the chapter's Assault, Devastator and Scout Marines who are deployed either as dictated by the Chapter Master or by Elected Company-Captains. Unlike other chapters, whose companies possess their own battle honours and personalised heraldry, the Gulf Knights save such honours for distinguished squads who are known by the name of their Sergeant rather than number. On the rare occasions the Gulf Knights do deploy in company-strength, a Company-Captain is chosen by vote or appointed by the Chapter Master in particularly dire situations. Distinguished Squads Squad Valecho - '''''Karius Valecho commands the second of the ''Gulf Knights' two squads of Terminators in the First Company. Having distinguished themselves on many battlefields across the Imperium long before Kassius Doric Vayne succeeded his predecessor as Chapter Master, they are some of the oldest and most experienced Battle-Brothers amongst the Knights of Kattarn. Although widely respected, their cunning and skill is only matched by their ruthlessness and Valecho's sheer ambition, both of which have put them at odds with their more honourable brethren. ''Squad Ghast - ''Squad Ghast is led by the intensely cunning, charismatic and unfortunately naive Loehn Ghast, a Space Marine who has come to embody everything about the Gulf Knights, rightly or wrongly. The foremost fighting men of the Second Company, Squad Ghast distinguished itself fighting the Orks of Waaagh! Deffgutz across the Babat System in 903.M41. In particular, the piecemeal slaughter of Warboss Deffgutz Squigrencha's elite Nobz, the ''Deff-gitz, ''catapulted Loehn Ghast and his Squad to prominence amongst his brothers. ''Squad Sevenstark - '''''Sevenstark is a new entry in the honour rolls of the Knights of Kattarn. Richter Sevenstark only recently distinguished himself fighting the Tau Occupation of the Adrakand, Lexillus and Cadricon Systems in 941.M41, leading his squad against the forces of the notorious Tau Commander Dawnhound in a series of brilliant engagements across the three star systems. Although somewhat younger than many of their brethren, their exploits and Richter Sevenstark's astute leadership easily make them the equal of any of the Gulf Knight's best units, even if some among their ranks were rather it was not so. Combat Doctrine Deathwatch Service Notable Members Notable Campaigns & Engagements Chapter Culture & Lineage Homeworld & Recruitment Category:Imperium Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:Space Marines Category:Unknown Founding Category:Unknown Geneseed